The Meridional. (Abbeville, La.) 1856-1906, 1887-04-23
A Proposed Louisiana Road
Peculiarities of'tiae Country.

JEASERETrE. La, April 9, 1887.
From the Chicago Railway Age.
The J]eanerette, Abbeville and
Western railroad was organized
here a few days ago, with Capt.
F. NJ. Welch as president, G.
Sitges, secretary, and S. R. Gay,
treasurer, and a board of nine direc-
tors. 1t is projected to run from
Jeanerettc TO AbbevilIe, a distance
of thirty miles. The country through
which it will run is so level that
the engineer, whose survey, estimates,
proGIes, etc, are now in, reports the
average grade is only one foot two
inches The cost for bridges will
be nothing almost, a. nc streams arc
crossed, and a very few places will
require cheap trestling. The
try all along is exceedingly fertile,
and is in the area denominated The
sugar bowl Of l.ouisiana"-the ia.
NOUS "Attakapas country'-a land
immortalized ny Longfellow in
EvangcIine. and a country, before
the Florida mania. the choice theme
for descriptive writers when wreak-
ing their Inspirations upon southern
winter-clims and flowers.
The road will fluid a supporting
business at once, as the country is
sugar and cotton p|antlng-voca-
tons always paying handsome trib-
ntes to railroads. The extremely
eligible soil for surgar planting, IN
connection with the fact that the
road will make it accessible. will
greatly stimulate the erection of
central refneries On the new plan
that will soon obtain in Louisiana
known as the diffusion process
There is an active and most infuen-
tial propaganda at work in this
State, in favor of dividing the sugar
interests iuto two distinct branches:
the raising the cane end selling it to
the sugar marker. who shall have
his refinery near the scene Of cane
raising.
1t is thought that the rctincr can
pay $3.50 to 81 per ton for cane,
and the country will produce from
Is 10 25 tons of cane per acre. At
least half this yield ought to be
profit enormous compensation for
lands now only selling at from IS to
SIS per acre, and almost the richest
in the world. The trouble now is
a double one: First. canc-plauting is
not to he thought of where a sugar
mill is more than a few miles away,
because the hauling of the cane to
the mill is such a prodiyious work,
and so expensive. On the other
hand, so many millions of dollars
have been sunk in The disused or too
expensive processes in the old mills,
that the loss makes ~ grievous a
burden, that a purchaser fer the
lands is hard to find who will pay
even an approximation to the value
of the land with the cost of the
efe,e mill superadded. The great
point in this new road is that it will
open a rich sugar area unburdened
with the cost Of superannu tied sugar
processes, where very cheap lands
can be had, and where sugar-maklng
will be separated into the distinct
industries of c~ane-raising and sugar
refining. Hence, this new old.
country may be said to he immense.
" benefited by never having had a
railroad; since it has suffered next
to nothing from expensive, outworn
processes now being discarded CT IL
dislavor.
Another great advantage of this
railroad will be, in the opening te
settlement it will offer TO the Western
farmers now pouring into sor1h
west Louisiana. Heretofore TIL:
wave of immigration has rushed past
this oul.ofthc-way part Of Louisiana
and spent its beneticence on tht
more western part Of southwes
Louisiana contiguous to the rail
road. This latter area is becoming
next to crowded, and room for PEG
pie will soon be imperatively needed
With the exception of the winter
rush to Florida, and the manufacture
ing and mining boom at Birminham
Ala, this influx of Western farmers